


Control

by LibraryMage



Series: Kept from the Light [1]
Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Alternate Universe, Child Abuse, Gen, Maul is a Bad Parent, Whumptober
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:54:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26753893
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LibraryMage/pseuds/LibraryMage
Summary: Maul puts Ezra through his most difficult test yet.
Relationships: Ezra Bridger & Darth Maul
Series: Kept from the Light [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1164446
Comments: 6
Kudos: 32





	Control

**Author's Note:**

> Looks like I'm finally back to writing stuff for this AU. I have a longer fic planned for the near future, but for now, here's this.
> 
> Written for the Whumptober prompt "waking up restrained."

_Wake up._

Ezra’s eyelids ached as he forced them open. Something felt _off_ , and as he struggled to sit up, he realized just what it was.

He was standing up against a tree, his arms bound behind him, wrenched back far enough that a dull ache had already settled into his shoulders. His master stood before him, a vibroblade in his hand.

“Master?” Ezra said, blinking in confusion. “What’s going on?”

“A test.” Maul’s voice was unnervingly calm as he pinned Ezra in place with his gaze. “Of your ability to connect with other beings.”

Ezra swallowed, trying to force down the nervousness that began to buzz in his chest. He’d done what Maul was talking about before, controlling rats and other small animals. But Maul had never restrained him during the exercises before.

His master stepped forward, raising the vibroblade, and Ezra pressed himself back against the tree, the rough bark digging into his back.

“What are you – _ah!_ ” Ezra gasped as the blade slashed across his arm, leaving a shallow cut in its wake.

“The creature you will be tested on can smell even a small amount of blood from as far as five miles away,” Maul said. Ezra hissed through his teeth as Maul left another cut on his arm. “We are one mile from a den.”

Ezra’s jaw trembled as Maul left two more cuts on his other arm. As the blood trickled down his skin, Ezra was painfully aware of just how vulnerable he was. If this was a test, his master wasn’t going to help him if the creature, whatever it was, attacked.

“They are solitary creatures,” Maul said. “And territorial. Seeing more than one would be unusual. But if it happens, I expect you to handle it.”

“Yes, Master,” Ezra said, his voice barely more than a whisper.

Maul walked away, outside of Ezra’s field of vision. But Ezra could still sense the man somewhere behind him, watching, evaluating. Swallowing down his fear, Ezra shifted his focus away from his master. He reached out, feeling through all the thousands of life forms that surrounded him. If he could find the creature Maul was talking about, he might be able to stop it before it was close enough to put him in any danger.

_There._ It had picked up the scent of blood. It was hungry. And it was moving _fast_.

It wasn’t long before he could hear the creature, crashing through the trees as it drew closer and closer. Ezra frantically tried to reach into its mind, but each time he dug his mental claws in, they slid out just as quickly, unable to keep hold of the creature long enough to do anything.

He tugged at the restraints that bound his hands, letting the metal cuffs dig into his wrists. He focused on the pain, letting it fuel his anger. Maul’s lessons about how his rage made him stronger repeated in his head as he kept straining against the cuffs. There was nothing he hated more than feeling helpless.

Sinking into the fury that burned in his chest, Ezra stabbed himself into the creature’s mind. Just as the creature emerged from the trees, he finally grabbed hold of its mind, silently shouting a command.

_Stop!_

The creature skidded to a halt mere feet from Ezra. It was a feline of some sort, larger than him, with four razor-sharp claws on each paw that extended and retracted as it fought against Ezra’s control.

_Back away._

It didn’t move, hissing furiously as its tail whipped through the air.

_No!_

Slowly, resentment pouring off the creature with every step, it backed away. With one last mental push, Ezra forced the creature to sit down. It still watched him, hate and fury in its eyes, but as long as Ezra could keep his old on it, it wouldn’t attack him.

“Well done, apprentice.” Ezra only half paid attention to Maul’s words or the hand that rested on his throbbing shoulder, not wanting to split his focus. “Now, you are not to remove the restraints. I will come retrieve you in an hour.”

“What?!”

The moment Ezra turned his head to stare wide-eyed at his master, his hold on the creature’s mind vanished. It hissed, racing toward him once more, claws outstretched. Ezra gasped, Pushing the creature back with the Force, sending it flying into another tree. He grabbed hold of its mind again before it could shake off the impact. Gritting his teeth, he forced it to sit once more.

Being careful not to let his control slip this time, Ezra looked up. But his master was already gone. Maul had left him here, alone, restrained, to deal with this creature and any other trouble the forest might send his way.

Ezra closed his eyes, breathing deeply as he sank into the animal’s mind. It fought against his control, frantic and confused and furious as it tried to throw him out of its head. Each time it strained against his mental hold, Ezra’s heart rate spiked, certain that it was about to break free and attack him. But each time, Ezra forced the creature back into submission, making it stay far enough away that it couldn’t hurt him.

Maul had said he would be back in an hour.

Maul had never lied to him.

He could do this.

He had to.

He would die if he didn’t.


End file.
